Before I Say I Do

My billionaire dad chooses a husband for me. People claim that Sebastian Lambert is a fine gentleman who's absolutely in awe of me.

He seems easy enough to deal with, so I agree to the marriage. The wedding is held at the biggest hotel my family owns.

On the big day, as I push open the doors in my wedding dress, a bucket of foul-smelling blood comes crashing down on me.

The scene inside is even more horrifying. What was supposed to be a pure and romantic ceremony is now decorated with giant spiders and cockroaches. Grotesque clown faces grin at me from the walls. At the altar, there's a black coffin.

Sebastian's adoptive sister, Ruth Lambert, strolls over with a group of people. She covers her mouth in fake surprise as she remarks, "Oh my, Claudia, you look like a pathetic mutt right now!"

Laughter erupts around me. Holding my anger back, I coldly reply, "All of you, get out."

She crosses her arms, arrogantly looking down at me as if she's on some pedestal. "Come on, Claudia. Seb personally asked me to surprise you. I put in a lot of effort to decorate your little wedding. You're telling me to get out? I don't even get a 'thank you'? Do you need me to teach you some manners?"

She signals to the people next to her, and two of them step forward, trying to force me to my knees.

Stunned for a few seconds, I pull out my phone and call Sebastian. "Is this the so-called surprise you had your sister prepare for me? Forcing me to kneel before her?"

This wedding had some of the most influential people as guests. I didn't care much either way, but the older guests weren't going to be nearly as forgiving with Sebastian Lambert.

If he really was as chivalrous as Dad claimed, I figured giving him a hand wouldn't hurt.

But before I could finish my sentence, Sebastian cut me off impatiently. "That's all you wanted to say?"

He sounded as if I was making a fuss over nothing.

My rage was indescribable, but I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "Mr. Lambert, you seem to be confused. The wedding's about to start, and Ruth has turned the venue into a crime scene. You'd better come deal with her—"

With a beep, the line went dead. I was aghast. We hadn't even met, and he'd already threatened me twice. Was this what Dad meant by "in awe?"

Ruth crossed her arms and sneered. "You're nothing but a mutt that the Lamberts picked up off the street. Who do you think you are now—the lady of the house? So what if Grandpa likes you? I'm the only one Seb cares about!"

Seeing my disheveled appearance didn't seem to satisfy her, and she lifted her blood-splattered heels. As if she were doing me a favor, she said, "If you crawl over here and lick my heels clean, maybe I'll spare you some scraps during your time with us in the future."

My chest heaved with fury as I gave her one final warning. "I don't care who's spoiling you. It's none of my business. Get out of my hotel now, or I'm calling security."

Ruth curled her lips into a mocking smirk like she had just heard some sort of joke. "Your hotel? Please. Do you even know how much Seb paid just to rent out this hall? This place is the best of the best. Could someone as broke as you even afford a tile in this place?"

Upon hearing her words, I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized her.

I had constantly kept a low profile so that I wouldn't be abducted. I always wore plain outfits too. Still, the people I interacted with in my network had always treated me with respect. As for spoiled, arrogant brats like her, I'd only seen them on television.

I didn't want to waste my breath on her. I reached out to press the intercom button on the wall. "Someone's causing trouble here. Please send help as soon as possible."

Ruth's face fell as she glared daggers at me. "How shameless of you. Looks like you're just stubborn to the core!"

She barked at the burly men behind her. "Beat her to a pulp! Teach her a lesson!"

I had learned self-defense, but my wedding dress made it hard to move. It didn't take long before one of them yanked my hair and slammed me to the ground. Pain shot through my back—I could've sworn something dislocated.

I had barely managed to struggle free when the security team finally showed up. I steadied myself and pointed at Ruth's group. "They're the ones causing trouble."

I had only just finished speaking when a guard jabbed me with a stun baton. My body felt nothing but excruciating pain, and I nearly blacked out.

When I opened my eyes again, my hands were pinned behind my back. I was shoved against the wall like a criminal.

"Ms. Lambert is our guest. Our duty is to protect our guests."

The surrounding staff burst into curious murmurs.

"She just said she was the owner of the hotel. Look at her now. How delusional of her. Now that's embarrassing!"

"She thinks she's the lady of the house just because she's married into the family. The audacity to talk back to the one and only Ms. Lambert!"

The security guard holding me seemed almost robot-like as he said, "Miss, due to your disruptive behavior, you are now permanently banned from entering this property."

With so many people having her back, Ruth strutted over. She smugly grabbed my face and taunted me, saying, "Are you scared now? If you still want to marry Seb, you'd better crawl over and lick my shoes clean. Or else, I'll make sure the whole world's laughing at you by tomorrow!"

Never once in my life had I ever experienced something so absurd and humiliating. Still, I wasn't going to escalate things further.

Being treated like a criminal by employees of my own company? I couldn't afford to be involved in a scandal like this right now.

As they let their guard down for a moment, I seized the chance and yanked one hand free. I tried to shove Ruth away from me.

Yet, the next moment, someone firmly seized my throat from behind. "Got a death wish? How dare you lay a finger on my woman!"